


Good Days Don't Last

by WinterFang



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Graphic Description, Guns, Hospital, New Parents, Post-Apocalypse, Pregnancy, Safe Haven, Unexpected Visitors, Unplanned Pregnancy, code word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 11:16:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4917460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterFang/pseuds/WinterFang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He didn't know that the world would do this to him, he didn't know that she stubbornly decided to keep it... He didn't know, okay?!<br/>And if he did, he wouldn't be acting like this. He would... he couldn't prevent the world from falling apart - but he could prevent their world from falling apart.<br/>Or... he would try.</p><p> </p><p>(Post season one of Fear TWD)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Days Don't Last

He didn't mean for this to happen, he never, ever wanted this to happen because he would've just put everyone's life, hers, his, his family's, in danger.  
All because he wasn't thinking, all because he was drunk and high and she was and they couldn't make the right decisions. They didn't know it would happen, they thought it would be fine. That she wouldn't be throwing up in the morning, that she wouldn't be cramping, that she would be craving the food they didn't have, that she would be tired and lethargic all the time.

He didn't know he would be up all night, watching her and making sure she was okay. He didn't know that he would protect her from gore, he didn't know he'd go out of his way to find a fucking Twinkie because she wanted one, he didn't know he'd be giving her back massages whenever they had a fucking break from running for their lives.  
He didn't know that the world would do this to him, he didn't know that she stubbornly decided to keep it... He didn't know, okay?!  
And if he did, he wouldn't be acting like this. He would... he couldn't prevent the world from falling apart - but he could prevent their world from falling apart.  
Or... he would try.

Today was not a good day for him.

 

"Okay, listen to me." His heard was pounding, blood was rushing through his veins, his temples were pounding and he could barely get in enough breaths because he was panicking. She was holding his hand tightly and there was a look of pain on her face, "Nick-"  
"No, I know. You need to run. We will be right behind you, okay, Rebecca? I love you." He said as he brought his forehead to touch hers, their lips touched briefly before he spun her around and nudge the girl forward.  
She put a hand on her stomach and groaned as the eight-in-a-half month old, unborn child was kicking her and causing her to double over in pain.

"You better be fucking worth it." Rebecca muttered as she lowered her head when the gunshots started to ring out - there was a whole /herd/ of biters after them. And it was huge, they were trying to stop them, but that was impossible, the only thing they could do was slow them down while they ran, but Rebecca didn't think that would last either.  
Because there was something wrong.

 

She spared a glance behind her and watched as Nick was firing off round after round alongside his family, real and adopted.  
Rebecca groaned as the baby kicked harder at her stomach, "Sonofa..."  
How she ended up with this thing... it was a crazy night. It was only supposed to be one drink and then go home (this was before the apocalypse started), but some how, some man she knew was able to encourage her into more drinks and then he took her back to 'his' drug house where he smoked a joint or two and she just sat and watched him and... Rebecca had known Nick for a very long time.

And he was always very special to her, despite his habit. That night, they showed each-other  
a good time... a very good one.  
Rebecca didn't take birth control back then because she swore she would wait, she swore it... And Nick, he wasn't thinking straight and he didn't... use a condom.  
The world fell apart - her family joined up with Nick's and two months later, surprise... she's pregnant in the zombie apocalypse.

It's the worst fucking time to ever get pregnant, and when Nick proposed the pills... she had become so angry with him and shouted that there was no way she was getting rid of the child. And she would take care of it by herself...  
Nick, being the stupid-puppy-dog that he was, hugged her and told her that he was sorry and he really was, he just wanted her to survive...

 

Rebecca nearly tripped over her own feet as a strong pain shot through her, she did tip over and go off road a little bit to lean against a tree - "Oh... no..."  
Okay, okay... there was an emergency code-word for this. Shit, shit, shit! She couldn't remember it, "F-fhh. Nhg. Ooh-kay." She whispered as she grabbed onto the tree and held it, these were not kicks from the baby, holy - Braxton-Hicks contractions... no, no, no!  
"Not now, you little fucker!" Rebecca hissed out as she felt another sharp pain, the girl gasped and tried to catch her breath at the tight-knot that was wringing and unwringing everywhere. This was not the time, they weren't even somewhere safe, much less sterile.

 

"Rebecca! Why'd you stop?" Nick asked as he suddenly back up behind her, he was worried and rushed and she was not behaving like herself.  
And now it had gotten worse, so worse that she could barely speak and what was the code word?! They had a code word for when she went into labor and it was going to the be the baby's name, what was the name?!  
Ruby? No.  
Garnet? No!  
Sapphire?! NO!!

Then it clicked just as she felt another one hit, all the blood was rushing to her head and it was hard to make the noises out. Nick was talking to her and there was gunfire all around them, "Emerald." Rebecca panted out, but it was a whisper, and God-damn it! He wasn't, Rebecca cried out and grabbed her stomach, this was possibly worse than being ripped apart.  
Though she wouldn't know what it felt like, Becca was sure this was worse.

"Emerald! God, Nick!" Rebecca finally shouted when the pain had reached a maximum with her. She felt like death was trying to crawl its way out of her and sending horrible amounts of pain through her body, she thought saying the code-word would urge Nick to do something, but instead the former junkie froze and just started at her, horror written all over his face as if he couldn't understand why she was saying this.  
"Emerald?" He whispered, his hand touching her stomach that just felt like it was getting bigger and swelling up as if it was going to explode.  
It felt very sensitive and Rebecca couldn't help but flinch, wheezing out a breath.

"Yes, Emerald is coming." She told him, panting between the words she had spoken, someone just get this fuc-  
"Ah!" Rebecca cried as he legs buckled and Nick had to quickly wrap his arms around her to make sure she didn't fall to the ground.

 

"Okay, okay." They couldn't walk and he couldn't carry her and there was a horde of biters that were coming after them.  
"Emerald!" Nick shouted to the rest of his family, making them too, freeze for a moment before they went back to shooting, making sure every bullet counted, they too knew the code word for when the child would be born, in case anything like this happened.  
'In case' this ever happened, it never should've! And he was panicking while attempting not to show it and while attempting to calm the woman he loved.  
Oh... the baby was coming, why now?! Out of all the times... it picked now.

 

"Liza - I need you to help." Nick said as he stripped himself of his jacket and laid it down, then helping Rebecca on it. But that didn't go without a few curses and cries of anguish.  
Liza lowered her gun before putting it away and going over to them, "Did your-"  
Silence followed that, "It just did." Nick said, and all over his jacket, though he couldn't actually force himself care about the jacket, he was more concerned over the fact that Rebecca had gone deathly silent.

And just before Liza was about ready to check Rebecca's dilation, "GET DOWN!" Sounded out, his family turned around to get a look before they dropped down.  
Well, look who showed up in time - the biters had steadily started to come closer, despite how many have already been taken down. His family had started to run on empty because there wasn't anyway running was an option, not anymore.

 

And all of a sudden, one, loud... big bang that make Nick's ears ring and him get dazed for a second, rang out and a explosion went off and destroyed the middle of the horde.  
That was when Nick turned his head to see a take, three hummers, three jeeps and he saw them all fucking decked up in armour and guns... just something you'd see jump out of Madmax. And they didn't look like they wanted to kill the small band of survivors.  
"Come on! We're gonna help you, how long has it been since her watch broke?!" A woman said as she knelt down beside Liza and Rebecca, who looked a little bit (or a lot) pale and was grabbing at the asphalt with nothing to hold onto.

"About a minute ago." Nick replied, they were here to help, right? He hoped they were, because running was getting so tiring.  
"Okay, bring the stretcher." The woman said into her walkie-talkie, she had dirty blonde hair with dark brown eyes and sharp cheekbones, a narrow chin and a small jaw. She kinda looked like an alien to Nick, but he wasn't one to say anything.  
He just glanced to Rebecca and then the woman again, "You're gonna help us." Said the youngest of the group, walking over and then kneeling down beside the woman who had just gone into labor, his life-time best friend.  
"Yes, we are - what are your names?" The blonde asked, looking at all of them, and before Nicholas could answer, Liza was answering for them.  
"I'm Liza, this is my son Christopher - that's Nick and Rebecca." She said just as two men with a stretcher came up and started to help Becca on the stretcher.  
"Yeah, Nick is the one who got her pregnant." Chris said as he stood up and took Rebecca's hand in his, and Nick could only stand and follow after them.

 

He wasn't sure if Chris forgave him for getting Becca pregnant, I mean... She was there for him. Whenever he needed it, and Nick was most certainly on the list of people he didn't like too well, his father and Madison being apart of that list as well. It seemed that the whole Clark family was on it, besides his sister. Nick was a little pissed about that, but it was better not to say anything and let the others figure it out.  
There wasn't anything the former junkie could say to the young boy, he couldn't tell him how sorry he was for getting Rebecca pregnant - he even hated himself for it because it could kill everyone. But now, Nick couldn't let go because he found himself falling for this woman. She had his child, she didn't hate him for it... she was wildly protective of her whole family and would do anything for them.  
She put herself before others and she was beautiful, no matter what. Nick loved her, and there was no denying that.

 

The men carried Rebecca to a van that had pulled up, then they slid her inside with Chris and Nick climbing inside, and the strange alien woman.  
Chris gave his mother a questioning look as she pulled away, "Its alright, just go. I'll catch up. I love you." Chris smiled softly to her and nodded mouthing 'I love you too' - then the van doors closed and they were speeding off.  
"Why did you-?"  
"You needed help, we help people who need it. Now, we are going to give you a place to live. We're gonna help everyone." The girl said as she cut Chris off, he watched her as she went to check Rebecca's dilation.  
"Two centimeters..."  
"What is you're-"  
"Melissa, I'm a doctor. Used to be; but where I'm taking you guys has every thing I need to help."  
Nick and Chris spared a glance to each other, she said 'help' a lot, and not that it wasn't reassuring. It was odd... very odd.  
"What's wrong with her?" Nick asked when he saw Rebecca shifted a bit and grip his hand even tighter.  
"Her way to deal with the pain." Melissa replied as she brushed her own hair back and looked to them, most women would be screaming if they had gone into labor - also while underneath a lot of stress, that was hard.

 

~  
~

 

Fifteen minutes, five turns and they were final there. It was a walled up /city/, not a town... but a city.  
It wasn't terribly big, it didn't have huge buildings that touched the clouds, but it did have a few apartment buildings, a neighborhood and a - hospital... And inside... it looked like nothing had happened, like the infection hadn't even reached this part of Colorado? Was it?  
But still...

 

It was heavily guarded too... this was somewhere Nick could live... if it wasn't so 'clean'.  
And then there was Chris - who was not so convinced that this place was right. There was something a bit off... who would offer help to strangers? Bringing six cars and a tank... there was something off.

 

And the next thing they knew... Rebecca was lying on a hospital bed, holding onto Nick and crying out her pain while Chris watched with his 'family' from the window, she was almost ready.  
"Okay - Rebecca, you're gonna have to push. Now." A new doctor said as she looked up, Nick just stood beside her, holding her hand and not knowing what to do other than offer her comforting words and allow her to squeeze the hell out of his hand.

 

Rebecca couldn't really register what was going on, but she could hear voices, one that told her to push and one that was encouraging her.  
And with a deep breath, she cried out and started to push.

 

It was one thing seeing it staged on movies, but seeing it... in real life, knowing that it was your child and it was the woman you loved... I mean, it was wonderful. Seeing something being brought into the world for the first time, hearing it cry out for warmth.  
It was... nothing that Nick had ever seen and it filled him with a joy as he saw his... child his-  
"Its a boy."  
Son... his son. He had a boy.

Provided with this information, Nick just smiled and despite the hell all of them has been through, there was something else to be happy about and it was small, sure it was really small.  
Even something small can bring you so much joy. He didn't even know it, he was crying and he was squeezing her hand.  
Overjoyed at what he had witnessed and the feeling of becoming a parent was amazing, something that you could care for, hold, and look at and just see the person you love.

 

"Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?" The doctor asked him, extending the baby boy to him, and it all came crashing down on him... he has no idea what to do.  
Perhaps some expert advice from his mother and Chris's parents would do just fine.

"I- uh, I don't... are you sure?" Nick asked as he edged closer, in this... suit thing they made him put on to protect his clothes from whatever. He looked down at the crying child and then took the scissors they offered him, he glanced to the nurse as she pointed where it should be cut.  
And he did, "Don't forget the placenta." The nurse reminded him as he held the end of the umbilical cord with his gloved hands, "The what?" Nick asked, a slight look of confusion came over his face as he turned when the trust pointed at some liver looking-  
"Oh, gross!" Nick yelped as he jumped back and let go of the organ, the nurses and doctor laughed while Rebecca raised her head wearily and glanced to the father of her child.

"Are you saying I'm gross?" She asked, a look of hurt crossing her face, "What? Oh, no... not you, the thing that came out of you." He said as he leaned over her and gave a slight smile.  
Where as she got alert and had a deadly, unamused look on her face as she glared at him, "Are you calling /our/ baby gross?!"  
"No!" Well, he was already failing this so he might as well show her, "This!" He said, grabbing the placenta and holding it up.  
"Ew! Nick!" Rebecca said as she shied away from it, he got his point across. Nick wrinkled his nose and realised that must've been bad of him, he quickly disposed of it and then went back over to Becca, removing the gloves and tossing them away.

 

"Its a boy." Nicholas said when she opened her mouth to ask him, she then smiled tiredly, after carrying him in her stomach for eight-in-a-half months... fuck... that was not the best experience, the best was knowing that there was life inside of her. And that it was Nick's child she was carrying.  
"We could name him Emeraldo." They had agreed, when they established the code-word, they'd name the child that.  
"No... I think I like Emerald for him... it suits him." She said softly once her baby was handed to her, all bundled up in blue and asleep in her arms; for a splint second, it was easy to forget that the world fell apart and good things, times, never lasted.

 

But when he opened his eyes, green eyes looking up at the two people curiously, a little smile on his face... the new parents realised that they would do anything for this little angel. Anything at all.  
And for a moment...

 

They decided to pretend that this good moment would last.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate Titles;  
> Emerald  
> Why Now?
> 
>  
> 
> Side-Note; I might change this into a story, but I'm content with this.  
> Comments and criticism is welcome.  
> (Any errors you see, like grammar or something just doesn't make sense, that would be my autocorrect and I'll try to fix it when I can)


End file.
